Florida in a must-win situation

Friday

Nov 22, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 22, 2013 at 2:38 PM

GAINESVILLE — This Florida football season that began on the Top 10 Turnpike is now bogged down in Desperation Alley. How it went from there to here is a long story, one that does not need retelling at this time.

Robbie Andreu | Halifax Media Services

GAINESVILLE — This Florida football season that began on the Top 10 Turnpike is now bogged down in Desperation Alley. How it went from there to here is a long story, one that does not need retelling at this time.

All that matters is the Gators are here, their wheels stuck in the muck of a five-game losing streak, facing a desperate situation Saturday against Georgia Southern, and who would have thought it would come to this at the start of the season.

Just to keep their flickering hopes alive of having a winning season and becoming bowl eligible, the Gators must win in The Swamp. If they don’t, call the tow truck to haul this wreck of a season away.

It is as simple as that for this Florida team whose year has been complicated and compromised by injury after injury.

“We’re about as desperate as I am (tired) about hearing about it,” junior linebacker Michael Taylor said. “You get tired of losing. You come to a place like Florida, you’re not accustomed to it. You’re not used to losing five games. It definitely wasn’t in the plans.

“Players, coaches, we’re all disappointed. It’s like it’s all sliding downhill. But one thing we do have is two games left on the calendar. Those are two games we’re going to go out and focus on. Georgia Southern first. I know you’re going to ask about Florida State, but we take it one Saturday at a time. We have Georgia Southern and then Florida State.”

This two-game package becomes meaningless if the Gators are upset, which is not considered beyond the realm of possibility. Should that happen, the Florida State game becomes meaningful only for the No. 2 Seminoles, and who would have thought that could happen at the start of the season.

The Gators need a win in the worst way. Not just because they’re still holding out hope for a winning season. But because they haven’t had one in so long, way back on Oct. 5, as a matter of fact, when they beat Arkansas at Florida Field.

“We’re at the point where we’re in desperate need of a win to kind of bring the team spirit back up,” junior offensive tackle Trenton Brown said. “I mean, everybody is still working hard, still working as if it’s game one of the season.

“Injuries have taken a toll, but we’ve still got to fight. We’ve got a game this week, and we’re looking to get a win.”

“Our guys understand the situation with where we are,” Florida coach Will Muschamp said. “We need to go out and execute the game plan and play well.”

A victory is not a given against Georgia Southern, an FCS school that is moving to the FBS next season. Florida’s wounded offense has struggled against every defense this season, and the Eagles run a triple-option offense that is hard to prepare for in just one week.

The Gators faced a similar opponent two years ago and nearly got upset, having to rally from a 22-7 first-quarter deficit to defeat Furman 54-32.

“I mean, if you don’t come out prepared and ready to play you can lose to anybody,” Taylor said. “We lost to Vanderbilt. We hadn’t lost to Vanderbilt in 20-something years. So, any team is capable of losing on any day.

“This is no team to push aside. This is a team to be prepared for.”

Injuries continue to be a factor for the Gators. Starting quarterback Tyler Murphy could miss his second consecutive game with a sprained shoulder. His playing status will be a game-time decision.

If he can’t play, the Gators will go with redshirt freshman quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg, who managed the offense well in last Saturday’s 19-14 loss at South Carolina and will have more of the playbook available to him if he does start.

Although last week’s loss may have been one of the most painful during the five-game losing streak, the Gators said some positives came out of it and they feel they’ve generated a little bit of momentum.

“I’d say before the South Carolina game it was kind of down, but ever since the speech coach Muschamp gave us before the game Saturday, it was just like the whole locker room just lit up,” junior tailback Mack Brown said. “It showed in the game Saturday. We came close. We should have won. We came close and now I feel like the whole team is back, so I feel like we’re going to do pretty good closing the season out.”

The Gators are in Desperation Alley.

“It’s very important to win this game. We have to win,” Brown said. “Mainly because of the five-game losing streak, and because we’re Florida. We’ve got to win. We need a win. We need the swagger back.”

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